Building construction

ABSTRACT

A BUILDING CONSTRUCTION PANEL IN THE CONFIGURATION OF A PORTION OF A FRUSTUM OF A CONE, HAVING CURVATURES IN TWO DIRECTIONS AT RIGHT ANGLES TO EACH OTHER, IS FORMED BY A SERIES OF FLANGED ROLLERS IN SUCCESSION FROM A BLANK PIECE OF SHEET METAL HAVING ARCUATE OUTER AND INNER EDGES THE RADII OF WHICH CONFORM TO THE SLANT LENGTHS OF THE CONIC FRUSTUM. A SERIES OF SUCH PANELS ARE ATTACHED ENDTO-END TO FORM THE CONIC FRUSTUMS AND THE CONIC FRUSTUMS ARE JOINED AT THEIR SIDE EDGES TO FORM THE BUILDING. THE FLANGED ROLLERS ARE DISPOSED ON TWO MUTUALLY PERPENDICULAR RADII AND ON THE SURFACE OF AN IMAGINARY CONE CORRESPONDING TO THE CONIC FRUSTUMS OF WHICH THE BUILDING IS MADE.

March 16, 1971 J BLA$K| 3,570,293

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 1, 1969 4 Sheets-Sheet l March 16, 1971 J. F. BLASKI v 3,570,293

BU ILD ING CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 4, 1969 v 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 16, 1971 F. BLASK. 3,510,293

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 4, 1969 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 March 16; 1971 w J, BLASK] v 3,570,293

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION ,Filed Aug. 4, 1969 4 Sheets-Shet 4 lid United States Patent O 3,570,293 BUILDING CONSTRUCTION John F. Blaski, 1844 Miner St., Des Plaines, Ill. 60016 Application Apr. 18, 1968, Ser. No. 729,866, new Patent No. 3,505,765, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 415,748, Dec. 3, 1964. Divided and this application Aug. 4, 1969, Ser. No. 870,722

Int. Cl. B21b 15/00 US. Cl. 72-177 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A building construction panel in the configuration of a portion of a frustum of a cone, having curvatures in two directions at right angles to each other, is formed by a series of flanged rollers in succession from a blank piece of sheet metal having arcuate outer and inner edges the radii of which conform to the slant lengths of the conic frustum. A series of such panels are attached endto-end to form the conic frustums and the conic frustums are joined at their side edges to form the building. The flanged rollers are disposed on two mutually perpendicular radii and on the surface of an imaginary cone corresponding to the conic frustums of which the building is made.

This application is a divisional application of copending application Ser. No. 729,866, filed Apr. 18, 1968, which is a continuation-in-part of the application of John F. Blaski, Ser. No. 415,748 filed Dec. 3, 1964, now abandoned, for Building Construction.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The field of the invention relates in general to a building construction and, more specifically, to a semicylindrical building construction fabricated from identically shaped sheet metal panels having curvatures in two directions transverse to each other.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved building construction. More specifically, an object is to provide a new and improved generally semi-cylindrical building construction fabricated from identically shaped sheet metal panels of frusto-conical configuration. In this connection, it is an object to provide such a building construction which is adapted to be easily and quickly built by unskilled laborers with a multiplicity of such panels.

Quonset hut types of buildings made of corrugated v u r metal pieces are known as, for example, in the Fonts Patent 1,182,082. Buildings made of adjacent pieces of channel shaped cross sections are known, for example, in Blaski Pat. No. 2,436,543. Other flat panel constructions, corrugated, diverse shaped, or simply curved flatly arranged pieces are known as in patents Worthen No. 16,767, Gatrell et al. No. 1,369,236, Thompson et al. No. 2,173,402, Blaski No. 2,271,451, Palmer No. 2,302,949 and Behlen No. 2,742,114.

Accordingly, another object of the present invention, and the basic problem solved, is to provide new and improved sheet metal panels having curvatures in two directions transverse to each other for forming a generally semicylindrical building construction. More specifically, it is an object to provide such panels of frusto-conical configuration which may be readily secured together to provide a rigid corrugated surface forming a generally semicylindrical building structure and which may be readily dismantled or disassembled without destruction or injury. Still another object is to provide a structure of this type characterized in its strength and ruggedness.

A further object of the present invention is to provide Patented Mar. 16, 1971 a new and improved building construction which facilitates sealing the building. In this connection, it is an object to provide new and improved sheet metal panels which, when properly secured together, form a desired building structure and form channels therebetween adapted to receive a desired sealant so that the building may be readily sealed.

It is a further object of the invention to provide new and improved methods and apparatus for manufacturing panels according to the invention.

SUMMARY In a preferred form of the invention, a plurality of sheet metal panels are provided which are curved longitudinally and transversely, as in a frustum of a cone, and which have inner flanges and outer flanges formed along the longitudinal edges thereof, the inner and outer flanges being in contiguous angularly displaced relationship. The inner flanges of pairs of panels are secured together to form substantially V shaped sections and to form channels between adjacent panels which are adapted to receive a sealant. The ends of the panel are offset so that substantially V shaped sections may be connected together in end-to-end relationship, with their ends overlapping, to form rows of V shaped sections. A plurality of such rows of V shaped sections are built up to provide a corrugated surface having a generally arcuate configuration. By using a sufficient number of panels, a generally semi-cylindrical structure may be formed which has a preselected length corresponding to the number of rows of panels employed. A sealant may then be applied in the channels formed between adjacent panels so that the structure is sealed thereby.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a building construction embodying the features of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged end elevational view of the building construction of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective View of a generally rectangular sheet metal plate, illustrating in dotted lines the curved shape of a plate in a preliminary stage of panel formation;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a completed panel utilized in the building construction of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary perspective view showing several interconnected panels as employed in the building construction of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional view taken along line 66 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the relationship between the machine rollers employed to bend the curved plate of FIG. 3 into the shape shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic representation of a plan View of the machine rollers of FIG. 7 arranged on the slant side of an imaginary right circular cone and viewed along lines of sight parallel to the cone axis;

FIG. 9 is a composite diagrammatic representation of the rollers of FIG. 8 as viewed perpendicular to the slant side of the imaginary cone, a fragmentary top view of a curved plate prior to entering the machine rollers, and of sectional views of the plate after deformation by each group of rollers;

FIG. 10 is a composite diagrammatic representation of the rollers of FIG. 8 as viewed from the apex of and along the slant side of the imaginary cone, and a fragmentary side view of a curved plate;

FIGS. 11d, 11a, 11b and 11a are diagrammatic views of successive groups of the machine rollers of the preceding figures showing the relationship between the surfaces of cooperating pairs of rollers and end views of the plate after deformation by each group of rollers successively in the direction of plate movement, right to left, FIGS. 11d, 110, 1111 and 11a being taken in the direction of arrows 11d11d, 11c-11c, 11b11b and 11a11a respectively of FIG. 9; and

FIG. 12 is a diagrammatic sectional view of a series of adjacent panels similar to FIG. 6, taken along the highest vertical line of the building construction showing the roller relationship and certain dimensional relationships.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS While the invention has been shown and will be described in some detail with reference ot a particular, exemplary embodiment thereof, there is no intention that it be limited to such detail. Quite to the contrary, it is intended here to embrace all modifications, alternatives and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Referring now to the drawings and more specifically to FIGS. 1 and 2, a building construction 10 is illustrated which has a generally semi-cylindrical configuration. This type of construction is similar to a quonset hut structure which has been accepted within the past few years as an economical and practical type of building. However, this construction does not require supporting struts or the like as are required in quonset hut structures. As disclosed, a building 10 is constructed of a plurality of panels 11. In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, the panels 11 have identical configurations so that the panels may be used interchangeably in the assembly of the building 10. The panels 11 may be connected together longitudinally in end-to-end relationship to form adjacent rows 10a of panels and the rows 10:: of panels may then be connected together transversely in side-to-side relationship to provide a generally corrugated surface forming the generally semi-cylindrical building 10. As may be visualized from FIGS. 1, 2, 5, and 12 each row 10a of panels constitutes one-half of a frustum of a cone when the building is semi-cylindrical in form. Alternatively, the panels 11 may be connected together in side-by-side relationship to form sections of panels and the sections of panels may then be connected together in end-to-end relationship to form the generally semi-cylindrical building 10. In this case also, the adjacent rows 10a of panels form halves of frustums of cones. Since the foundation or base for the building does not comprise any part of the present invention, it has not been illustrated and will not be described. However, it will be readily understood that any conventional foundation or base may be employed in connection with the building 10.

In accordance with the present invention, the panels 11 in finished form are curved longitudinally and transversely, i.e., in transverse directions, and have inner and outer flanges (11a, 11b) and (11c, 11d formed along the longi tudinal (arcuate) edges of a body portion He in contiguous, angularly displaced relation, the opposite edges having the same angular relationship with the panel and extending in opposite directions therefrom. Referring to FIG. 4, a panel 11 constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention is shown which may be produced from a plate as shown in FIG. 3, the plate preferably being sheet metal of appropriate thickness. A rectangular piece of such sheet metal 11' is formed into an arcuate piece 11", by any suitable means as shown by the dotted lines in FIG. 3, the arcuate piece 11" being more accurately described as a sector of an annulus. The

inner and outer dimensions S and S of the sector are radii of circles which are related to the height of the completed semi-cylindrical structure as will become clear.

Referring to FIG. 12, wherein the cross-section of the building is shown at its highest point, it denotes the height of the completed semi-cylindrical structure from the ground to the base of the connected flanges 11a and h denotes the height thereof from the ground to the base of the connected flanges 11b.

The main body He, as shown in FIG. 12, is disposed at a predetermined angle 0 to the ground In this figure, dot-dash line extension to the ground of the main body 11c, shown as 11e, forms the hypotenuse of a right triangle whose angle with the ground is equal to 0 and whose other sides are h (the building height) and S along the ground. The length of the hypotenuse (11e plus 11e) is defined as R and the hypotenuse corresponds to the slant height of an imaginary right circular cone, the radius of whose base is h. The frustums of such cone form the rows of panels 10a in the completed building. Thus, each main body portion 11e of each panel 11 is part of a frustum of a cone and the contours of the panels formed by rolling an arcuate blank conform to the requirements of a cone. As may be visualized from FIGS. 6 and 12, the building structure consists of a series of connected conical frustums.

In FIG. 9, the arcuate piece 11" is shown with light phantom arcuate lines on its surface demarcating the flanges 11a, 11c and 11b, 11d and the radii R and R; which are also shown in FIG. 12.

The outer radius S of the annulus 11" is related to the slant height R in that S equals R plus (Ila-l-llc), and in like manner, the inner radius S of the annulus 11" equals R minus the width of (11e+11b+11d). Thus it may be seen that the relationship of the radius or dimension R to the desired height h of the building is given by the Formula R=h/ sin 0.

Therefore, it is seen that from the height h of the semi-cylindrical building to be constructed, and from the angle 6 between any panel 11 and the ground at the building height it, one can determine the proper radii of the transverse curves which denote the arcuate panel shown by the dotted lines in FIG. 3. While, as shown in FIG. 12, the right triangle hs'r is of the familiar 3-4-5 form, 3 representing the vertical dimension, this is exemplary and other proportions may be selected to suit particular conditions.

As indicated, each panel v11 has a pair of inner flanges, 11a and 11b, and a pair of outer flanges, 11c and 11d, the flanges being formed along the longitudinal edges of the panel in contiguous, angularly displaced relationship. While it will be readily appreciated that the arcuate plate member 11" may be manufactured in various ways to form the panel 11, according to the invention, the panel 11 is formed by running the arcuate plate member 11" through a suitable rolling machine or device, such as a machine having rollers of character shown and disposed in FIGS. 7-11.

For purposes of better understanding of the invention, the combination of rollers 13a-13d and Pia-14d, as

shown in the drawings, is termed one set and the com bination of rollers 15a-15d and 16a-16d, as shown in the drawings, is termed another set. For similar purpose the roller combinations (13d, 14d, 15d, 16d), (13c, 14c, 15c, 16c), (13b, 14b, 15b, 16b), and (13a, 14a, 15a, 16a) may be termed groups d, c, b, a of rollers, or stations, respectively.

Referring to FIG. 11, roller 14d has a planar surface 14dp and a forming flange 14d and roller 13d, which cooperates with roller 14d, has a planar surface 13dp and a cooperating recessive surface 13df. Similarly roller 15d has a planar surface 15dp and a forming flange 15d and roller 16d has a planar surface 16dp= and a recessive surface 16df which cooperates with forming flange 15d Similarly and for similar purpose, rollers 14c and have cooperating planar surfaces Map and 130p, respectively, a forming flange 14c) and a cooperating recessive surface 130;; rollers 15c and have cooperating planar surfaces 150p and 160p, respectively, a forming flange 150i and a cooperating recessive surface 160i; rollers 14b and 13b have cooperating planar surfaces 14bp and 13bp, respectively, a forming flange 14b and a cooperating recessive surface 13b); rollers 15b and 16b have cooperating planar surfaces 1511p and 1617p respectively, a forming flange 15b and a cooperating recessive surface 16b rollers 14a and 13a have cooperating planar surfaces Map and 13ap, respectively, a forming flange 14a and a cooperating recessive surface 1311f; and rollers 15a and 16a have cooperating planar surfaces 15ap and 16: respectively, a forming flange 15af and a recessive surface 16:11.

'Referring to FIGS. 9 and 11 it will be noted that the lines of view of stations d, c, b, a in FIG. 11 are taken in the direction of arrows 11d11d, 11c11c, 11b11b, and Ila-11a respectively, of FIG. 9. In FIG. 9, between each group of rollers, an end view of the panel as deformed by the immediately preceding group of rollers is shown and in FIG. 11 the corresponding end view of the panel is shown between the groups of rollers which are deforming it.

Thus, it will be apparent that the planar surfaces of the cooperating rollers serve to hold the panel and drive it through the rollers while the forming flanges bend the flanges on the panel as shown. The flanges bent onto the panel by the flanges on the rollers also serve to guide the panel through the rollers so that the panel does not move out of the pathway determined by the rollers. If additional guideways are needed, they may be provided by those skilled in the art. In FIG. 9 guides 21 are shown to facilitate guiding the arcuate blank 11" into the rollers.

The rollers may be driven by any suitable motors such as shown by the dotted rectangles M in FIG. 9.

During the forming operation, the arcuate plate 11" passes successively through the groups of rollers d, c, b, a or stations, and the longitudinal edges of the arcuate plate pass in the direction of the arrow A shown in FIGS. 7, 8, 9, and 10, between pairs of sets of rollers 13a-13d, 14a14d and 15a-15d, 16a-16d, which are in substantially facing relationship. The facing pairs of the set of rollers 13a-13d and 14a-14d cooperate respectively to form the flanges 11a and 110 along one longitudinal (outer) edge of the panel, whereas the facing pairs of the set of rollers 15a-15d and 16a-16d cooperate to form the flanges 11b and 11d along the opposite longitudinal inner edge of the panel.

The groups of rollers at stations a and form the outer flanges 11c and 11d in two steps, and the groups of rollers at stations 12 and a form the inner flanges 11a and 11b in two steps. The angularity of flanges 11c and 11d formed at station d is about double at station c and the angularity of flanges 11a and 11b formed at station b is about doubled at station a, the flanges 11c and 11d being given no specific bending at stations b and a, but being carried along the bending of flanges 11a and 111).

More or less stations of bending may be used as desired, it being necessary only to deform the metal in small enough steps to avoid buckling or other undesired strains. If desired, in some cases, flanges 11c and 11d may be eliminated and only flanges 11a and 11b used, the width of the latter being such as to accommodate the attaching bolts or rivets.

The angularity of the flanges 11a and 11b relative to the main body He must be equal to the complement of the angle 0 so that these flanges will be vertical to the ground when the main body portions 11s are disposed at angle 0 thereto.

As may be visualized from FIGS. 7 and 9 the general plane of the rollers in the forming apparatus is preferably horizontal in order that the flat annular piece 11" can be fed into the rollers horizontally. As the piece 11" enters the rollers it is flat and has circular edges of radii S and S When the piece 11" emerges from rollers as a panel 11 it has two curvatures corresponding to those of the surface of a cone. Thus the facing or abutting surfaces of the rollers must be disposed on the surface of a cone corresponding to the conical frustums of which the building is constructed. FIG. 8 is a partial view of such a cone whose apex is O and the radius of whose base is equal to h, the height of the building. The rollers 13a to 160. are shown in outline perspective on the surface of the cone in substantially the positions occupied by the rollers in the forming apparatus. The direction of view in FIG. 8 is along lines parallel to the cone axis. The view of the rollers in FIG. 9 is along lines perpendicular to the cone surface and may be considered as taken in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 12. Thus, in FIG. 12, by way of illustration of roller position relative to the panel surface during formation, there are shown four rollers, 13d, 14d, 15d, and 16d in dotted lines at radii R and R respectively.

In FIG. 9 the outer pairs of rollers 13d14d, -140, 13b14b and 13a-14a are shown disposed substantially on an arc corresponding to a circle of radius R, the outer slant distance of the cone frustum, and the inner pairs of rollers 15d16d, 15c16c, 15b16b and 15a-16a are shown disposed substantially on an arc corresponding to a circle of radius R the inner slant distance of the cone frustum. The outer and inner rollers in FIG. 9 are also shown disposed essentially along arcs corresponding to the arcs of the metal blank 11".

In addition to the curvature corresponding to the arcs R and R of the blank 11", the planar faces of the rollers are disposed on other curves whose radii are at right angles to the curvature shown in FIG. 9. Thus in FIG. 12-

it may be seen that the planar faces of rollers 13d-14d are on a radius R at right angles to the plane of 11a and would have a value determined by the formula R =h/cos 0. Also in FIG. 12 it may be seen that the planar faces of rollers 15d-16d are on a radius R at right angles to the plane of lle and would have a value determined by the formula R =h cos 0. The planar faces of rollers 13c14c, 13b-14b and 13a14a are disposed on an arc of radius R and the planar faces of rollers 15c-16c, 15b16b and 15a-16a are disposed on an arc of radius R At the entry point of the rollers i.e., at rollers 13d- 14d and 15d16d, the planar surfaces of the outer and inner rollers are disposed along a single line, as seen in FIG. 12, which is the view taken along the slant length of the cone, i.e., in direction of arrow C. Thus rollers 13d and 14d, at station d, are seen directly behind the rollers 15d and 16d respectively as in FIG. 10. In FIG. 10, there is shown the position of all the rollers as viewed from the apex of the cone i.e., in the direction of arrow C (FIG. 12), the outer set of rollers being on an arc of radius R and the inner set of rollers being on an arc of radius R The forming of the panel by passing through the groups of rollers may now be considered. As the arcuate piece 11" is guided into the first station (d) the outer rollers 13d and 14d bend the flange 11c upwardly and the inner rollers 15d and 16d bend the flange 11d downwardly as seen in FIGS. 9 and 11. Since flange 11c is on the long radius bending flange 11c upwardly causes the panel to become slightly concave in the direction desired. Similarly, since flange 11d is on the short radius, bending flange 11d downwardly causes the panel to become slightly concave in the same desired direction.

The intersection of the forming flange 14c and the planar surface of roller 14c at station 0 is at the same radius (FIG. 9) as the radius for the corresponding intersection of roller 140. at station d. correspondingly, of course, for the intersection of the recessive surface 130i and planar surface 130p of roller 13c and the intersection of the recessive surface 13d and planar surface 13dp of roller 13d. Similarly for rollers 15c and 15d (FIG. 9).

Thus as the arcuate piece 11" moves into engagement with the rollers at the second stage (c) the flanges 11c and 11d meet the forming flanges and recessive surfaces on roller pairs 13c14c and 15c16c, respectively, which bend the flanges 11c and 11d farther, as already described, and thus increase the concavity of the panel. Simple bending of the flanges 11c and 11d to the angle shown is not all that takes place. A change in radius of the flanges takes place as well by the roller action and strains the metal of the flanges beyond the elastic limit so that the flange and the panel retain their deformed shapes. Referring to the geometry of FIGS. 9 and 12 it will be noted that the outer radius of the flange 110 is decreased from S to (R sin 6+11a+a portion of 110). Since the widths of flanges 11a and 110 are small compared to the length of R or S the change in flange radius is essentially the change from the length of the hypotenuse to the length of the side opposite the angle (as viewed in FIG. 12). The radius of the inner flange 11a is, of course, changed a similar amount by the roller action.

When the blank 11" (partly deformed) reaches station b the first step of forming flanges 11a and 11b is taken.

The intersection of the forming flange 14b and the planar surface 1411p of roller 14b and the intersection of the recessive surface 131) and the planar surface 1311p of roller 13b is set at the radius R (FIG. 9) which has previously been determined in relation to the building height. Similarly, the intersection of the forming flange 15bf and the planar surface 15bp of roller 15b and the intersection of the recessive surface 16b and the planar surface 1611p of the roller 16b are set at the radius R; (FIG. 9) which, also, has been previously determined in relation to building height and width 116 of the panel.

In moving through station b the flanges 11a and 11b are formed to their halfway point and at station a the flanges 11a and 11b are formed to their final position, the effective radius R of the forming surfaces at station a (FIG. 9) being the same as at station 17.

The flange 11a, in addition to being bent to the angle (900), has its inner radius R changed to R sin 0:11, and the flange 11b, in addition to being bent to the angle (900), has its radius R changed to R sin 0:11 by the roller action at stations [1 and a. The angles of flanges 11c and 11d relative to flanges 11a and 11b, respectively may have the same value of (909), but it may differ therefrom, for example, be less than so long as a channel is formed to receive sealant, as described. In effect, the four stations of rolling bend the main body portion 11e into a conical surface which configuration the metal readily accepts because of its thin section, and roll the arcuate strips of metal 11a, 11b, 11c and d from their greater radii to lesser radii. In so doing the metal flanges 11a, 11b, 11c and 11d are permanently deformed and thus hold the panel in its final frustum of a cone configuration.

The resulting panel 11 has substantially greater strength than the arcuate plate member 11' due both to the simultaneous longitudinal and transverse curvature thereof and to the provision of inner and outer flanges along each of the longitudinal edges.

The curvatures of panels 11 are related to the height of the building, as explained, and, along with the angle 0 and the span of He between R and R are related to the strength of the building arch, that is, its ability to withstand the vertical load made up of the weight of the metal in the arches and any other weights supported thereby. It will be apparent from FIGS. and 12 that the greatest vertical strength will be obtained when the body portion 11s (as seen in FIG. 12) is substantially vertical. Under this condition, a very large number of arches formed of panels 11 would be needed to make a building having any substantial length l (FIG. 1). It will also be apparent from FIGS. 5 and 12 that the minimum vertical strength will be obtained when the body portion 111: (as seen in FIG. 12) is essentially horizontal. In this limiting case the number of arches needed to make a building of the length I will be a minimum.

In any practical case the angle 0 and the span of 11c will be selected to give the best combination of desired strength and economy of material. Thus in one practical case, for example, the angle 0 may be about 36.8 degrees (345 right triangle). In the same practical case, the height h was 32 feet, the radius S was 53 feet 6 /8 inches, the radius S was 51 feet 5% inches, the radius R was 53 feet 4 inches, the width of body 112 was 20 inches, the width of flanges 11a and 11b was 1 /2 inches, the width of flanges 11c and 11d was /8 of an inch, radius R, was 51 feet 8 inches, R was 40 feet and R was 38 feet 9 inches. It will be understood that these dimensions are exemplary only of one case and that many other dimensions may be chosen according to the invention.

In the construction of a building 10, rows of panels may initially be formed and then the rows may be connected together so that pairs of rows form substantially V shaped sections. To facilitate the forming of roWs of panels, the ends of the panels are offset so that they are adapted to overlap one another. Thus, a row of panels is formed by disposing a plurality of panels in overlapping relationship and by fixedly securing the panels together by suitable fasteners 18. Thereafter, the inner flanges 11a of rows of panels are disposed in face-to-face relationship, i.e., the rows are disposed in side-by-side relationship, and are fixedly secured together by fasteners 18 to form substantially V shaped sections between pairs of transversely adjacent panels. In like manner, the inner flanges 11b of rows of panels are disposed in faceto-face relationship and are fixedly secured together by fasteners (18 to form substantially V shaped sections between pairs of transversely adjacent panels. By combining a plurality of V shaped rows, a desired building 10 is formed. While any suitable fasteners 18 may be employed, the exemplary fasteners (FIG. 6) include bolts 18a which accommodate nuts 1812.

Alternatively, the inner flanges 11a of pair of panels and the inner flanges 11b of pairs of panels may be disposed in face-to-face relationship and may be fixedly secured together by fasteners 18 to form substantially V shaped sections. The V shaped sections may then be connected together in end-to-end relationship to form rows of V shaped sections. Again, by combining a plurality of V shaped sections a desired building 10 may be formed.

In keeping with the present invention, substantially V shaped channels are formed between panels disposed in side-by-side relationship when the panels are connected toegther as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. More specifically, substantially V shaped channels are formed between flanges of adjacent panels and between the main body portions of adjacent panels being contiguous with flanges 1 117. For th epurpose of sealing the building structure, a sealant 20 may be applied to the channels formed between transversely adjacent panels (see FIG. 6). Thus, it will be apparent that the panels 11 constructed in accordance with the present invention facilitate the positive sealing of the final building construction so that a watertight building is provided.

In view of the foregoing, it will be appreciated that a building 10 may be readily fabricated from she panels 11. A temporary tower or supporting column may be used to facilitate the building of double rows of panels forming V shaped sections which define an arch extending from one side of the building construction to the other side. Construction of the building by the use of the tower may be accomplished in various ways. For example, a half arch may be fabricated from the panels whereupon one end of the half arch is lifted onto and supported by the tower located at the center of the building, the other end of the half arch is then suitably anchored to the structural footing. A second half arch is then erected in the same manner and the two half arches are joined together at their upper ends. Alternatively, a first V shaped section is suitably anchored at the side of the proposed building so that it extends somewhat vertically.

Additional V shaped sections are then built up and temporarily supported upon the tower which is gradually moved toward the center of the building so that the tower always supports the highest assembled section. After one half of an arch has been completed and the upper V shaped section is supported by the tower, the second half arch is built up from the base of the building at the opposite side. With this latter arrangement, the use of a second temporary tower is required to construct the second half arch. Irrespective of which of the above-described methods or other methods is used, additional rows of V shaped sections may be secured to the longitudinal edges of the arch previously formed so that the desired building is provided.

It will be appreciated that a resulting building construction is provided with a corrugated surface having outer and inner seams formed by abutting inner flanges of adjacent panels. The seams are generally arcuate and extend transversely of the longitudinal axes of the building construction 10. Furthermore, a contiguous, corrugated surface is provided which facilitates the drainage of rain, liquid or the like that accumulates on the surface of the building structure. Due to the double curvature of the panels, i.e., the longitudinal and transverse curvature, an exceptionally strong and rugged building structure may be constructed from relatively lightweight panels. Additionally, the panels are strengthened by the provision of two flanges adjacent each longitudinal edge and channels are provided between adjacent panels wherein a sealant may be applied to provide a watertight building.

Due to the strength of the building construction resulting from the design of the panels 11, the building 10 may be made less than semi-circular in cross section to reduce the height thereof while reducing the span a substantially lesser amount and without weakening the structure. For example, if the building 10 is presumed to be built with a radius of 311 /2", the height may be reduced 6 at the center of the building by constructing the building to be less than semi-circular in cross section and to have a 60 span, i.e., by reducing the span 2'3". Since the upper area within such buildings is often 'Wasted space, the building 10 may thus be reduced in height to reduce the wasted space and to reduce the number of panels 11 required to construct the building. Furthermore, by reducing the height of the building 10, it can be made more eye-appealing from an aesthetic standpoint.

While particular embodiments of the invention have been shown, it will be understood, of course, that the invention is not limited thereto since many modifications may be made, and it is, therefore, contemplated by the appended claims to cover any such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

The invention having thus been described, what is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A method of forming a panel for a building construction wherein each panel is a portion of a conic section comprising the steps of forming an arcuate laminar piece whose outer radius corresponds essentially to the slant height of a right circular cone the radius of whose base corresponds substantially to the maximum height of 10 such building section and whose inner radius corresponds essentially to the slant height of said right circular cone at the point of minimum height of such building section, rolling said arcuate piece in two mutually perpendicular directions into a conic section conforming to said heights of maximum and minimum building section, and in the same rolling process, rolling flanges at the two radii of said laminar piece at opposite angles to the plane of said laminar piece and to be in the plane of the bases of such cone at the points of maximum and minimum height of building section, respectively.

2. Apparatus for forming structural panels whose surface conforms substantially to a portion of a conic section and from whose inner and outer edges oppositely disposed angular flanges extend comprising at least two groups of flanged rollers in succession, each one of said groups of rollers comprising four rollers, in two outer and inner spaced apart sets of two mating rollers each, the mating rollers of each set including abutting surfaces and mating flanges, the flanges of the rollers of the outer one of said sets being disposed to bend a flange on a panel in one direction and the flanges of the rollers of the inner one of said sets being disposed to bend a flange on such panel in the opposite direction, the spacing between the outer and inner sets of two mating rollers corresponding to a predetermined width of such structural panel, the corresponding rollers of the outer sets of successive groups of rolls being disposed essentially at a certain radius on the slant surface of a right circular cone of which said panel forms a portion of a conic section and the corresponding rollers of the inner sets of successive groups of rollers being disposed essentially, on said slant surface but at a radius corresponding to said first mentioned radius diminished by the predetermined width of said panel.

3. The invention according to claim 2 wherein the angles of the mating flanges of the rollers in a succeeding group of rolls are increased over that of the predecessor group.

4. The invention according to claim 2 wherein there are four groups of flanged rollers, the first two groups of flanged rollers cooperating to form a first flange along each edge of the panel and the succeeding second two groups of flanged rollers cooperate to form a second flange along each edge of said panel interiorly of said first flange.

5. The invention according to claim 4 wherein the angles of the mating flanges of the rollers in the suceed ing group of rollers in each of the first and second groups are increased over that of the predecessor group.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,144,572 1/1939 Kentis 72-177 2,556,423 9/1951 Miller 72177X 3,073,021 1/1963 Goodwill et al. 72-177 MILTON S. MEHR, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 72181 

